Off again, on again: conference center planners
look homeward

by Sarah R. Buchholz, Chronicle staff

ampus planners discussed the long-range possibility of an on-campus conference center during an update presented at a joint meeting of Amherst's planning and select boards Jan. 16. The update also included other campus projects, such as the Civil and Chemical Engineering lab, just underway, proposed Nursing and science buildings, and a possible 100,000 square-foot recreation center. Amherst College presented its campus plans at the meeting, as well.

     For nearly four years, the University has been studying the possibility of building a conference center. An earlier proposed site in a future North Amherst office park between Montague Road and Route 116 was eliminated from consideration by a 1999 Town Meeting vote. The campus now is considering building a multi-use facility that could serve as an alumni center and a lab for Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Administration students, as well as an executive conference center, according to campus planner Judith Steinkamp. The current proposed site is across Commonwealth Avenue from the Mullins Center, where a stucco barn and machine shop currently stand.

     "It's still very much in the exploratory stages," she said.

     Even though construction would be years away at a time the campus budget might be fuller, Steinkamp said the project would be unlikely to proceed without at least partial private funding.

     "The last consultant suggested that, if the project is to be successful, it can't stand alone," she said. "Would it be more feasible with three components? What would it look like to combine them? Would a private developer be interested? What would the project's scope be?

     "We have a lot of questions to answer, [but] it seems like there is a lot of synergy between what an alumni center needs and a conference center needs.

     "It would provide a place for us to host people on campus, and it could be a fund-raising tool, getting people interested in a capital campaign," she added.

     A new laboratory for HRTA students would provide internships as well as relief from aging facilities, Steinkamp said.